It’s been a little too long since we’ve seen something new from Bring Me The Horizon. They’re one of the more respected names in metalcore today, and their fans have been eagerly awaiting a new release. And after some skepticism and controversy, involving switching to a major label and the evident tensions between ex-rhythm guitarist Jona Weinhofen, finally we are ready to enjoy Sempiternal.
It may be a redundant statement, but when metalcore is good, it’s just good. Bring Me The Horizon has a pretty good reputation of just bringing it every time they have a new release. And bring it they did on Sempiternal. And it’s not for the common reasons, like they’ve gotten heavier, or they have a new guitarist from this other known band. Well, they actually do have a new keyboardist and lost one of their guitarists, but I don’t think that’s what makes the album so amazing. Sempiternal still has the energetic and crowd-pumping sound of past BMTH albums, but like most good bands, has started to explore some new sounds to incorporate to their sound.
Songs like “House of Wolves” and “Antivist” represent the sounds of the band that the fans love; complete with breakdowns, gang vocals, and everything else that really makes BMTH so infectious. But Sempiternal also explores a more emotional and atmospheric soundscapes to thicken and broaden their abilities. It definitely gives the album a little more character to separate it from just another metalcore album. "Shadow Moses", (technically the title track), showcases this integration of the atmosphere into their sound. Other tracks like "Crooked Young", "Can You Feel My Heart", and "Hospital for Souls" demonstrate this as well. They are executed incredibly well and contributes to an extremely full and well-rounded album.
Basically, if you’re already into metalcore or Bring Me The Horizon, this is going to hit it out of the park for you. The added bit of ambiance brings much more depth and emotion and can probably pull in some doubters. Some might complain that the newer explorations might have made the band weaker than past albums, especially now with Weinhofen gone. That's definitely a true statement, though it certainly doesn't make Sempiternal bad, but it is different. It's definitely not a perfect album, but I personally like this new direction they seem to be embarking upon. Amidst some of the problems it took to get there, Sempiternal is an amazing release by one of the bigger names in metalcore. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for good metalcore.
8.5/10
"Shadow Moses"
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJEahE-4juQ[/youtube]
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